payback
the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.
the return on an investment: This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.
the act or fact of paying back; repayment.
something done in retaliation: Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.
to repay or return; pay off: Graduates from this program are successfully paying back their student loans.
to retaliate against or punish: She paid us back by refusing the invitation.
to requite.
Origin of payback
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for pay back
to retaliate against: to pay someone back for an insult
to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc
to repay (a loan)
the return on an investment
Also called: payback period the time taken for a project to cover its outlay
something done in order to gain revenge
(as modifier): payback killings
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with payback
Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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